After changing my locks and keeping the spare keys with me, I went to the doctor to book an appointment.
'If I hadn't slept all day I would have come here sooner.' I thought.
"Relax. It's not your fault." the kitsune said.
Luckily, the clinic wasn't full so I was able to book the appointment on time and head to the mall. After ordering a cup of coffee, I sit at the table near the huge window facing outside the building and fiddle with my phone.
'2:30 PM. I am early. While I wait, I should take advantage of the free Wi-Fi and look up Kyuji Konagawa. I hope he isn't hard to find.'
As I push the buttons on my phone, a string of messages appeared.
'You are betraying me aren't you.'
I knew who it was and decide to ignore it.
'Beloved.'
'Don't ignore me.'
'I told you.
'It isn't over between us.'
'Lets' see, Kyuji Konagawa.' I hit the send button and waited, ignoring the string of messages.
'Don't ignore me.'
'You are pissing me off.'
'I am still your boyfriend understand?'
'Do you understand?'
'I'
'AM'
'STILL'
'YOUR'
'BOYFRIEND!'
"It says here that he works for an advertising agency for a small furniture company in the city of Tokyo." said the kitsune.
'Yeah. Should I pretend to be a customer or should I call him and go straight to the point?'
'Emma...'
I hear someone knocking on the window and look to my right.
Big mistake.
There stood Jake with red eyes covered in blood and he gave me a toothy grin.
"Uh oh. He looked mad!" the kitsune sniggered.
'What's so funny about this?' I ask.
I watched him put his forefinger in his mouth and bite hard. Just as he was about to smear blood on the glass, someone dropped something on the table.
"Sorry, I'm late. I had to finish some paperwork in the office."
I whip my head to see Taro standing beside me wearing a white suit and then look back at the window.
Jake was gone.
"Umm, is anything wrong? You look pale." Taro said getting my attention.
Still reeling from what just happened, I compose myself. "No, I am..."
Then I notice the bouquet on the table and the way he dressed.
"This is not a date Mr. Yamada," I point out with a frown on my face.
That burst his bubble for he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"And it's okay. A little birdie told me you were always late." I gestured to the seat in front of me. "Have a seat."
He sat with a bemused expression on his face and smiled. "It looks like I am doing another interview."
I know it is rude but I roll my eyes at his poor joke.
"Are you going to order something?" he asked.
"No. Thank you, Mr. Yamada. I ate before getting here." I reply.
His face fell. "Oh."
"Can you tell me about your relationship with your childhood friend Osana Najimi?"
He looked away hesitating for a while. "Well, she was my childhood friend and we were together a lot during middle school."
"You guys were close huh," I ask.
"Yeah. I can recall the number of times we played together and the number of times we visited each other. Our parents knew each other too and often teased us about becoming a couple one day but Osana didn't like that." He gave a boyish smile. "Back then, she get so angry that her face would turn as red like a tomato and it always cracked me up. I remember back in middle school, I annoyed her and ended up apologizing to her in front of everyone in the school hall. They made fun of us for the rest of the year and she called me an idiot swearing to never talk to me again."
"I bet she was talking to you the next day," I say.
He chuckled.
"But what happened during your high school days?"
Sadness clouded his face. "We were still close but she started avoiding me."
"Just like that?" I ask although I knew the story and he nods.
"I tried asking her what was wrong but she refused to speak to me so I asked her friend Raibaru but she didn't give me any solid information either. The next thing I knew, she was dating a guy by the name Kyuji Konagawa so I gave up."
"So soon?"
He shrugged. "At least Amai was there to help me."
"Amai?" I asked cocking an eyebrow.
"Amai Odayaka." Taro was scratching the back of his head again wearing a goofy smile on his face. "She was the leader of the Cooking Club back in Highschool. She was really sweet. Acted like an older sister when Osana started ignoring me and she helped me get over her."
"I see." I take my time to think for his story was the same as Ms. Fumestsu's and remembered what Detective Walsh told me about him. "So what happened to her?"
He sighed drumming his fingers on the table. "She committed suicide and no one knows why."
'That is vague.' I stare into his eyes. 'But he looks sincere to me.'
"It seems like something bad happens to every girl I'd meet back in High school." He gave a deep sigh. "Most of them disappeared for no reason."
I wanted to ask him why he continued to pursue relationships with the girls who disappeared but looking at him, I understood why. He had a boyish charm that some women would find attractive and what added to it was his youthful-looking face. He was still young despite his age.
"Well, look at the bright side; you survived the massacre, the scandal didn't affect your entry into college, you have a good job and you are married to a beautiful wife with four kids. So, it is a win."
Propping his elbow on the table, he rolled his eyes and looked away. "Yeah. It is a win."
'Why do I get the feeling that he is not happy with his marriage?' then a deadpan look appeared on my face. 'Oh wait, he isn't.'
'But that's none of your business is it?'
'No, it isn't.'
With that in mind, I decided to end our conversation. Looking at the time on my phone, I stand up from my seat. "Thank you for your time Mr. Yamada but I have to leave."
"Wait, you are leaving already?" he asks and I give a nod prompting a disappointed look on his face. "Can't you stay?"
I give him the silent treatment and shake my head but grab my hand.
"Please?" he asks staring at me with his grey eyes. "Let's order some food. What would you like to eat? It's on me."
I shake my head and try to get my hand off his grip. "I am sorry Mr. Yamada but as I said, I ate before I got here."
"I know but don't you want to eat anything? They make awesome chocolate cakes here."
'Wow! You are getting clingy aren't you.' I twist my hand out of his grip take a quick bow, I was about to leave before bumping into his mother-in-law.
"My. Watch where you are going," she says.
"I am sorry," I say bowing again but stop halfway when because of the contents in her shopping bag.
'What the...'
"Is something wrong?" she asks sweetly.
Snapping out of my dazed state, I rise. "Oh, it's nothing. Are you shopping ma'am?"
Her eyes went to me, then to flowers on the table then to Taro. "Not really. I am here to pick up my son-in-law It's almost dinner time and my daughter wants him home immediately. I didn't know he was having dinner with a friend."
I sensed the emphasis on the word 'friend' and smile back. "Oh. You go it all wrong Mrs....um...."
"Mrs. Aishi."
"Yes. You got it wrong Mrs. Aishi. I was just asking him some questions about O...."
"Idiot!"
My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. Apparently, I was the only one who heard it because Mrs. Aishi gave me a weird look.
"About who dear?"
I open my mouth to say the name again but shut it quickly. Resisting the temptation to look around, I think fast and quickly remember the bouquet on the table.
"I was just asking him some questions about the orange flowers among the bouquet he bought for his wife." I said pointing at them. "He has a terrible taste when it comes to flowers doesn't Mrs. Aishi."
The glare she gave me made it clear she didn't fall for the lie. "Why...I thought you had a terrible taste in flowers."
I shrug and shake my head. "I prefer food over flowers Mrs. Aishi."
"Which is a pity because it seems you are adding weight." she pointed out earning a frown from me."Are you sure you aren't pregnant dear?"
I was shocked though I didn't show it. "How did you know?"
"I heard a rumor about someone matching your description being pregnant for her Math teacher." closing her eyes, she put her hand on her cheeks and chuckled. "It's too bad the poor man lost his marriage and job over that."
"Yeah. It is a pity." I reply. "But I assure you Mrs. Aishi, I am not pregnant."
"Oh? So you did an abortion then?" she asks.
"I can't be pregnant within two weeks Mrs. Aishi. It takes about a month for symptoms of pregnancy to show and you should know that considering the fact you have one daughter but a woman of your structure should at least have three children and lots of grandkids in my opinion."
A vein popped out of her forehead and she opened her eyes in a glare. "That was rude or you dear."
'So was you commenting on my weight.' I think holding my tongue and ask, "Are you cooking dinner Mrs. Aishi?"
"Why yes I am? Do you want to tell me what he likes because that would be so nice of you." she replies still keeping the glare.
"No. I am just asking that because those don't look like cooking utensils." I point at her shopping bag. "Why are you buying a lot of knives, hand saws, and a shovel?"
Her face turned pale and she starts swaying from side to side.
"Are planning on gardening?" I ask bailing her out of her predicament.
"Why yes. That's it," she says.
I cock an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Look, the equipment in our shed was broken so I decide to buy some to help my Darling at home. He loves gardening."
I was taken aback because the way she talked along with the hostility in her voice was familiar but keep it to myself and eye her bag until she hides it behind her.
'When did kitchen knives, ropes, and syringes become gardening tools?' I think but forcing a smile on my face, I take a bow, bid them a 'Goodnight' and leave them only to crouch by the entrance of the resturant to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"What were you talking about dearie?" Mrs. Aishi asks.
Taro shrugs. "She wanted to talk about Osana Najimi."
"You mean your childhood friend who committed suicide?"
He nods.
"Really." she drops the bag on the table with a huge bang that startles him and sits on the chair. "What did she ask?"
"I...I am not sure," he replied.
"Oh come on. Surely she must have asked you some questions." she leans closer to him. "You know she slept with her Math Teacher, got herself pregnant and the poor man fired. You don't want to be involved with that girl, do you? It could ruin your reputation in the office."
'Is it just me or is she trying to blackmail him?' I ask myself.
'That's not the only thing. Study his body language.'
I do that. 'He is shaking.'
'And twiddling with his fingers.'
'Maybe he's nervous around her?'
'I think he's scared of her.'
'I disagree. I know some mothers-in-law are hard to impress but she doesn't look hostile.'
'It seems you have forgotten the items you saw in her bag.'
'But there is no way she would use that on him unless he is a masochist.'
'So the kitchen knives, syringes, and the ropes were for whom then?'
I had no answer to that and leave despite the eery feeling crawling up on me.